‘You’re competing against the best’: 20-year-old rider who won a Royal Windsor hat-trick on stepping up to horse classes

Alice Homer was undoubtably one of the stand out stars of the 2022 Royal Windsor Horse Show.

She tallied an impressive three wins in total, kicking off her campaign with her own heavyweight Little Joe, who jumped to the overall working hunter championship. She then took the ride on Liz Prowting’s five-year-old hunter Bloomfield President to score the novice hunter title before jumping on Liz’s middleweight Bloomfield Eloquence, after a quick outfit change, to secure the ladies’ hunter class.

Alice, who fits showing in around studying Geography at Bristol University, found some time in her busy schedule to speak to H&H showing editor Alex Robinson on episode 105 of the Horse & Hound Podcast.

“Our team were incredible and everyone involved made sure everything ran like clockwork,” said Alice, reflecting on her Royal Windsor experience. “Windsor is always an incredible show and there’s always such a buzz, but with The Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations this year it was ramped up. The atmosphere was electric.”

Alice first forayed into horse classes aged 17 with Sarah Van Vegchel’s Hardingville Sunrise, who she qualified for the Royal International (RIHS) in ladies’ ranks.

“She was a super easy mare,” said Alice. “I was also fortunate to be given the opportunity by Jayne Ross to ride some of her horses in championships at shows. When I was 18 I rode her second placed lightweight in the hunter championship at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). That was an incredible experience and Jayne was so generous to allow me to have those rides.

“The transition into horse classes is difficult in a way, as you’re competing against the best, such as Jayne and Robert Walker, who have been doing it for years. But if you have the right horses and the mindset there’s nothing stopping you doing it when you’re young.”

While Alice’s first love is showing, she is also a talented point-to-point jockey and she has three horses specifically for the discipline.

“I love pointing as my granddad (David Tatlow) also gets such enjoyment out of training the horses for me. It’s something he’s done his whole life.

“I have a good balance between the horses and studying at the moment, but I am only in first year so I will probably have to knuckle down with the work in the next couple of years. I have a couple of university friends who event, too, which helps as they understand.”

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Hear more from Alice, including some insight into her most recent stars of the show ring, on episode 105 of the Horse & Hound podcast. Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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